Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, March 26
Stillwater, OK
6 p.m.
Kansas State University
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Oklahoma State
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Kansas State
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Oklahoma State
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Wildcats Drop Big 12 Opener to Cowboys Friday Night
Mar 26, 2021 | Baseball
STILLWATER, Okla. – K-State starter Jordan Wicks struck out nine in six innings, but No. 13 Oklahoma State scored nine unanswered runs, including a seven-run seventh, Friday night to take the series opener, 14-5, at O'Brate Stadium.
The Wildcats (13-8, 0-1 Big 12) cut the Cowboys' lead to a single run, 3-2, after a Chris Ceballos two-run homer in the fourth. Oklahoma State (13-6-1, 2-2 Big 12), who scored three runs in the first inning off Wicks, added two in the sixth inning before its seven-run seventh pushed the lead to 12-2.
"They set the tone in the first inning," head coach Pete Hughes said after the game. "Oklahoma State got aggressive in the first inning and it paid off for them. But we gave ourselves a chance to get back in that game. I was a little disappointed in the fact that we didn't situationally hit when we had opportunities to get runs. Seems to be the story of our short season so far.
"It was the first time we saw Jordan Wicks pitch when he was down, we hadn't seen that this year, but he proved what kind of competitor he is. He allowed his teammates to get us back into the game."
Nolan McLean, the second batter Wicks faced, hit the first of three Cowboy home runs in the game. Max Hewitt added a two-run single that put the Cats in a three-run hole.
Wicks sat down 14 of the next 15 he faced after the three-run first, keeping OSU scoreless through the fifth inning. Wicks issued a leadoff walk to Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the sixth before Brock Mathis homered to extend OSU's lead back to three runs, 5-2.
Wicks struck out the side in the sixth, upping his strikeout total to nine through six frames. The sophomore lefty did allow a season-high five earned runs on six hits in suffering his first loss of the campaign.
The Cowboys' seven-run seventh was aided by a pair of K-State errors that led to five unearned runs. In the inning, Oklahoma State brought 10 to the plate and the scoring was capped by a two-run single from Alix Garcia. Hewitt also added a two-RBI single, finishing 3-for-5 with four runs batted in.
K-State reliever Jaxon Passino began the seventh and faced six batters without recording an out before Andrew Stratman entered the game. Passino yielded two hits but did allow six runs (two earned) with two walks.
Stratman finished the seventh with an unearned run on two hits to his ledger. Five of OSU's seven runs in the seventh went as unearned.
"The seventh inning, that happens in baseball, it just gets away from you sometimes," added Hughes. "You've got to just cut your losses, move on and figure out how you're going to win a series. But I was proud of guys, they just kept playing baseball."
The Wildcats answered with three runs on three hits in the next half inning, bringing eight to the plate. Zach Kokoska and Dylan Caplinger each recorded RBI singles while Daniel Carinci added an RBI fielder's choice.
Oklahoma State's third homer of the day, a two-run shot by Encarnacion-Strand in the eighth, capped the scoring and pushed the OSU lead to 14-5.
Ceballos led the Wildcat offense, going 2-for-3 with two RBI. His fourth-inning homer was his first of the year and 12th of his career.
Dylan Phillips singled and scored twice in extending his on-base streak to 32 games.
Luke Beckstein led off the fifth with a double, his first of the year. Beckstein's double and Ceballos' home run were K-State's only extra-base hits.
The Wildcats ended the night 3-for-18 with runners on base and 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Oklahoma State starter Parker Scott improved to 5-1 after logging eight innings with three earned runs allowed on eight hits. Scott struck out eight and walked one.
Encarnacion-Strand registered three hits, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and four runs scored. Garcia, Mathis and McLean each drove in a pair for OSU.
K-State and Oklahoma State continue the three-game series Saturday at 6 p.m. at O'Brate Stadium. Radio coverage is available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with live, free audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
NOTES
The Wildcats (13-8, 0-1 Big 12) cut the Cowboys' lead to a single run, 3-2, after a Chris Ceballos two-run homer in the fourth. Oklahoma State (13-6-1, 2-2 Big 12), who scored three runs in the first inning off Wicks, added two in the sixth inning before its seven-run seventh pushed the lead to 12-2.
"They set the tone in the first inning," head coach Pete Hughes said after the game. "Oklahoma State got aggressive in the first inning and it paid off for them. But we gave ourselves a chance to get back in that game. I was a little disappointed in the fact that we didn't situationally hit when we had opportunities to get runs. Seems to be the story of our short season so far.
"It was the first time we saw Jordan Wicks pitch when he was down, we hadn't seen that this year, but he proved what kind of competitor he is. He allowed his teammates to get us back into the game."
Nolan McLean, the second batter Wicks faced, hit the first of three Cowboy home runs in the game. Max Hewitt added a two-run single that put the Cats in a three-run hole.
Wicks sat down 14 of the next 15 he faced after the three-run first, keeping OSU scoreless through the fifth inning. Wicks issued a leadoff walk to Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the sixth before Brock Mathis homered to extend OSU's lead back to three runs, 5-2.
Wicks struck out the side in the sixth, upping his strikeout total to nine through six frames. The sophomore lefty did allow a season-high five earned runs on six hits in suffering his first loss of the campaign.
The Cowboys' seven-run seventh was aided by a pair of K-State errors that led to five unearned runs. In the inning, Oklahoma State brought 10 to the plate and the scoring was capped by a two-run single from Alix Garcia. Hewitt also added a two-RBI single, finishing 3-for-5 with four runs batted in.
K-State reliever Jaxon Passino began the seventh and faced six batters without recording an out before Andrew Stratman entered the game. Passino yielded two hits but did allow six runs (two earned) with two walks.
Stratman finished the seventh with an unearned run on two hits to his ledger. Five of OSU's seven runs in the seventh went as unearned.
"The seventh inning, that happens in baseball, it just gets away from you sometimes," added Hughes. "You've got to just cut your losses, move on and figure out how you're going to win a series. But I was proud of guys, they just kept playing baseball."
The Wildcats answered with three runs on three hits in the next half inning, bringing eight to the plate. Zach Kokoska and Dylan Caplinger each recorded RBI singles while Daniel Carinci added an RBI fielder's choice.
Oklahoma State's third homer of the day, a two-run shot by Encarnacion-Strand in the eighth, capped the scoring and pushed the OSU lead to 14-5.
Ceballos led the Wildcat offense, going 2-for-3 with two RBI. His fourth-inning homer was his first of the year and 12th of his career.
Dylan Phillips singled and scored twice in extending his on-base streak to 32 games.
Luke Beckstein led off the fifth with a double, his first of the year. Beckstein's double and Ceballos' home run were K-State's only extra-base hits.
The Wildcats ended the night 3-for-18 with runners on base and 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Oklahoma State starter Parker Scott improved to 5-1 after logging eight innings with three earned runs allowed on eight hits. Scott struck out eight and walked one.
Encarnacion-Strand registered three hits, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and four runs scored. Garcia, Mathis and McLean each drove in a pair for OSU.
K-State and Oklahoma State continue the three-game series Saturday at 6 p.m. at O'Brate Stadium. Radio coverage is available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with live, free audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State scored five runs on eight hits with two errors and nine left on base.
- Oklahoma State scored 14 runs on 11 hits with one error and three left on base.
- Ceballos hit his first homer of the season, a two-run shot in the fourth.
- It was the 12th homer of Ceballos' career.
- Caplinger, Carinci and Kokoska each drove in a run for K-State.
- Wicks, now 4-1, worked the first six innings, allowing five runs on six hits with two walks and nine strikeouts.
- After allowing three runs in the first, Wicks retired 14 of the next 15 batters.
- Ceballos had the only multi-hit performance for K-State.
- K-State had two extra-base hits.
- The Cats were 3-for-11 with two outs, 3-for-15 with runners on base and 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
- Oklahoma State scored five unearned runs in the seventh inning.
NOTES
- Oklahoma State leads the all-time series 172-58.
- The Cats are 17-99 on the road in the series.
- The Cowboys have won the last nine meetings in the series.
- Phillips is on a career-long 32-game on-base streak.
- Phillips has a hit in 29 of his last 32 games.
- Kokoska is riding a 17-game on-base stretch.
- Thompson made his 205th consecutive start for the Wildcats (sixth all-time).
- Ceballos is the 12th different Wildcat to homer this season.
- K-State has tallied 31 home runs in the last 17 games.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Scott, Parker (5-1)
L: Wicks, Jordan (4-1)
Batting:
2B: Beckstein, Luke 1
HR: Ceballos, Chris 1
RBI: Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Ceballos, Chris 2 ; Carinci, Daniel 1 ; Caplinger, Dylan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Goodwin, Nick 1 ; Phillips, Dylan 2 ; Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Ceballos, Chris 1
HBP: Phillips, Dylan 1 ; Ceballos, Chris 1
Batting:
2B: Hewitt, Max 1
HR: McLean, Nolan 1 ; Enc.-Strand, Chris. 1 ; Mathis, Brock 1
RBI: McLean, Nolan 2 ; Enc.-Strand, Chris. 2 ; Mathis, Brock 2 ; Hewitt, Max 4 ; Trenkle, Caeden 1 ; Garcia, Alix 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Morrill, Hueston 1 ; McLean, Nolan 3 ; Enc.-Strand, Chris. 4 ; Mathis, Brock 3 ; Hewitt, Max 1 ; Sifrit, Noah 1 ; Cabbiness, Cade 1
SB: Morrill, Hueston 1 ; Enc.-Strand, Chris. 2 ; Mathis, Brock 1
Game Leaders
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Players Mentioned
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